Agenda item

Refused, reasons to be set out in the minutes.

The Committee considered application 19/00831/OUT,an outline application for a Residential development of up to 15 dwellings at Land South of Home Farm House, Clifton Road, Deddington for Harcourt Deddington Limited.

In reaching its decision the Committee considered the Officer’s report and presentation and the written update.

Resolved

That application 19/00831/OUT be refused for the following reasons:

1.     By virtue of its poorly integrated relationship with existing built development, its extension beyond the built limits of the village and its scale and location, the proposed development would cause significant and demonstrable harm to the character and appearance of the area and the rural setting of the village and would fail to reinforce local distinctiveness.  For the same reasons the proposal would also result in 'less than substantial' harm to the setting of the nearby Scheduled Ancient Monument and Conservation Area and the harm stemming from the proposals are not considered to be outweighed by any public benefits. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies ESD13, ESD15 and Villages 2 of the Cherwell Local Plan (2011-2031) Part 1, saved Policies C28 and C33 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996, Cherwell Residential Design Guide SPD (2018) and Government guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework.

2.     The development proposed, by reason of its relationship and poor pedestrian connections to the centre of the village and service and facilities (including bus stop) and taking into account Cherwell District Council's ability to demonstrate an up-to-date housing land supply, would not provide good access to services and facilities and public transport in the interests of reducing the need to travel and promoting sustainable transport options.  Therefore, the proposal is contrary to Policies ESD1, SLE4 and Villages 2 of the Cherwell Local Plan (2011-2031) Part 1, and Government guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework.

3.     By reason of the site's location in an area of known archaeological interest with high potential for significant archaeological deposits to survive on site, and in the absence of a detailed and adequate archaeological field evaluation, the Local Planning Authority cannot be satisfied that the proposal would not result in unacceptable and unavoidable harm to archaeological assets. Thus, the proposal conflicts with Policy ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan (2011-2031) Part 1 and Government guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework.

4.     The application submission fails to demonstrate that suitable and safe access to the site can be provided in the interests of highway safety given the lack of information regarding the vehicle speeds near the site.  The proposed development therefore conflicts with Policy SLE4 of the Cherwell Local Plan (2011-2031) Part 1 and advice in the National Planning Policy Framework.

5.     The submitted Drainage Strategy is inadequate and does not provide sufficient information to demonstrate that a drainage strategy based on Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems has been explored for the site.  The proposal is therefore contrary to Policy ESD7 of the Cherwell Local Plan and advice in the Written Ministerial Statement on Sustainable Drainage Systems (Dec 2014).

6.     In the absence of the completion of a satisfactory Planning Obligation, the Local Planning Authority is not convinced that the necessary infrastructure (including education, open space, sports facilities, community facilities, highway infrastructure and affordable housing) directly required as a result of this development, in the interests of supporting the sustainability of the village and the development, mix and balanced communities, and in the interests of safeguarding public infrastructure and securing on site future maintenance arrangements, will be provided. This would be contrary to Policies INF1, PSD1, BSC3, BSC10 and BSC11 of the Cherwell Local Plan (2011-2031) Part 1, the Developer Contributions SPD (2018) and Government guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework.